Tweezers.



C. CULMAN.

TWEEZERS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB 10. 1911.

Patented Nov. 5, 1918.

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CARL CUJLMAN, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI,

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Application filed February 10, 1917.

embodied a rather complicated and enpensive organization of structuralelements but, in operation, the act of closing the tweezery, jaws on theobject, has involved a bodily longitudinal movement of the said jaws,

tending to lift them away from the object, which condition seriouslyinterferes with and renders exceedingly difficult, the grasping' ofminute objects by the tweezers.

The present invention has among its objects, therefore, to providecomparatively simple, inexpensive tweezers wherein the jaws in closingwill, in so far as bodily longitudinal movement is concerned, remainstationary, thereby insuring ready engagement of the tweezers with theobject to be grasped.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention comprises thenovel features of construction and combination of parts more fullyhereinafter described.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure l is a side elevation of an instrument embodying the invention; v

Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section taken on the line 22, of Fig.1;

Fig. 3 is a detail section taken on the line 33, of Fig. 2, and showingthe parts on an enlarged scale v Fig. d is a perspective viewillustrating the manner of grasping the instrument in the operation ofclosing the tweezer jaws;

Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view showing another embodiment of thebearing head applied to the tweezer jaws; and,

Fig. 6 is a similar view showing still another embodiment of the bearinghead.

Referring to the drawing, 1 designates an. elongated tubular sheath orcasing, equipped with end caps 2 and 3 and provided with a longitudinalslot 4, there being mounted on, and for sliding movement longitudinallyof, said casing, a spring sleeve or collar 5 fixed specification ofLetters Patent.

Serial No. 14:7,9tt6.

by means of a pin 6 to the head 7 of a pair of cooperating springtweezer jaws. 8, adapt ed to be normally housed within the casing 1,while provided in the forward end cap 3 1s a slot or opening 9 throughwhich the twee3zer-jaws may be projected forwardly beyond the casing, asshown and as will be Patented not; a, rare.

readily understood. During the movement l of the sleeve 5 on the casingl, in the operation of projecting or retracting the tweczer.

jaws, the pin 6 will travel in the slot 4i and guide the sleeve andtweezers in their movement. The tweezers are made from a length of sheetmetal folded upon itself, to provide the pair of jaws 8 which, whenprojected beyond the casing, are adapted to open an tomatically throughtheir inherent spring action, while for closing the jaws, there isprovided, av pair of bearing fingers l0 preferably struck from the bodyof the casing l at the forward end thereof, and turned inwardly at rightangles to the axis of said casing in position to bear on the other sidefaces of the jaws, as seen more clearly in Fig. 3-, for pressing thejaws to closed position, as the casing moves forwardly over the jaws.

lfn practice, the tweezer jaws are normally housed within the casing andmay be projected therebeyond and to open position, by sliding the collarthe tweezers proper thus projected beyond the casing, the instrumentwill be grasped, as in i, and the open jaws positioned for their forwardends to straddle the object to be grasped, whereupon pressure applied bythe finger of the operator upon the rear or upper end of the casing,serves to move the 5 forwardly/ along the cas ing to the position shownin Fig. l. Fli'ith casing bodily downward on the jaws, which,

during this operation, remain fixed against relative bodily movementand, therefore, partake of only such movement as will cause them toclose upon and grasp the object, this closing movement of the jaws beingcaused by the bearings 10 riding downward over the outer side faces ofthe jaws, as will be readily understood. ft is to be particularly notedthat the construction embodying my invention dispenses with the use of aspringer springs for retracting the tweezers into the casing, and thatthe, opening and closing movements of the jaws are aflected whollythrough a positive manual movement of the casing and tweezersrelatively. it will be noted further that the resultant device inltltllltlti be inexpensively made,

vat their rear meeting en vol Yes a minimum of structural parts, whichare of simplified form and may, therefore, and furthermore, that in theoperation of the device, when the tweezers are projected beyond thecasing, they remain passive while being positioned over the object to begrasped, as above explained, and during the movement of the casingdownward thereon for causing them to close upon the object. As a result,the jaws may be allowed to open to their fullest extent, even when theobject to be grasped is of minute size, and will under such conditions,close properly on the object without being lifted away therefrom duringtheir closing movement.

In Fig. 5 the tweezer jaws 8 are provided ds with a head 11 moldedthereon and of a form (and of suitable size) to fit within the casing 1,and form a bearing for guiding the parts during relative movement of thecasing and jaws. 'llhis head may be molded to fit special or odd shapedcasings.

In Fig. 6 there is applied around the head 7 of the jaws 8, abearing-piece 12, adapted to engage the inner face of the casing 1 atdiametrically opposite points at right angles to the slot 4, and tocooperate with the pin 6 for guiding the parts during movement of thetweezers into and out of the casing.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that the device accomplishes thestated objects of the invention, it being understood that in attainingthese ends, various minor changes may be made in the details herein setforth without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

Having thus is claimed is:

1. An instrument of the type described, comprising a pair of cooperatingspring tweezer jaws, a casing constructed and arranged to normally housesaid jaws, and for relative movement longitudinally thereof, said jawsand casing being adapted for posidescribed the invention, what tive,manual movement relatively to project the jaws beyond, or retract theminto, the casing, said casing provided with a longitudinally extendingguiding slot, means mounted in said slot and supporting said tweezerjaws, and means acting through relative movement of said last-mentionedmeans and the casing to move the jaws to,

closed position.

2. An instrument of the type described, comprising a pair of cooperatingspring tweezer jaws, a casing constructed and arranged to normally housesaid jaws, and for relative movement longitudinally thereof, said jawsand easing being adapted for positive, manual movement relatively toproject the jaws beyond, or retract them into, the casing, said casingbeing provided with a longitudinally extending guiding slot, a collarmounted on the casing, a pin carried by the collar and extending throughsaid slot, said tweezer jaws being suspended from and supported by saidpin, and means acting through relative movement of said sleeve andcasing to move the jaws to closed position.

' 3. An instrument of the type described, comprising a pair ofcooperating spring tweezer jaws, a casing eonstrueted and arranged tonormally house said jaws, and for relative movement longitudinallythereof, said jaws and easing being adapted for positive, manualmovement relatively to project the jaws beyond, or retract them into,the casing, said casing being provided with i longitudinally extendingguiding slot, :1; collar mounted on the casing, a pin carried by thecollar and extending through said slot, said tweezer jaws beingsuspended from and supported by said pin, said casing having inturnedbearing fingers at its lower end disposed to act upon the outer faces ofsaid jaws and move said jaws to closed position.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature this 18th day of November,1916.

CARL CULMAN.

